Finding consensus, struggling with conflict at legislative halfway mark
As Indiana lawmakers prepare for the second half of the session, several key issues are awaiting further review.
civil rights
Articles
Suit: Police excessive force caused Indianapolis woman’s death
The estate of an Indianapolis woman who died from a lack of oxygen in 2019 after officers restrained her facedown in a church is suing the city and its police department, alleging that officers caused her death by using excessive force.
House votes to expand legal safeguards for LGBTQ people
The Democratic-led House passed a bill Thursday that would enshrine LGBTQ protections in the nation’s labor and civil rights laws, a top priority of President Joe Biden, though the legislation faces an uphill battle in the Senate.
House poised to vote on legal safeguards for LGBTQ people
The Democratic-led House is poised to pass a bill that would enshrine LGBTQ protections in the nation’s labor and civil rights laws, a top priority of President Joe Biden, though the legislation faces an uphill battle in the Senate.
Parents’ gender-marker change requests for transgender kids splits COA
Two Indiana trial courts must reconsider parents’ requests to change their children’s birth certificate gender markers, a majority of the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday, finding parents have statutory authority to request the changes for their minor transgender children. A dissenting judge, however, opined that Wednesday’s decision was a judicial overreach into legislative powers.
Indiana woman who gave birth alone in cell secures $200k settlement
An Indiana woman who gave birth alone in a Kentucky jail will receive a $200,000 settlement after arguing that correction staffers were deliberately indifferent to her medical needs, according to a news report.
House panel advances pregnancy accommodations bill with virtually no mandates
Indiana lawmakers are moving forward with a pregnancy accommodations bill that won’t require businesses to make any adjustments for workers. Some legislators advocated for a measure that they said would offer pregnant workers more meaningful protections.
Bill would require listing biological parents on birth certificates
A bill in the Legislature could reignite Indiana’s battle over birth certificates and possibly upend federal court rulings that allow married lesbian couples to have both their names listed as their children’s parents. Some attorneys, however, see numerous unintended consequences if the bill passes.
SCOTUS sides with Germany in Nazi-era art dispute
The United States Supreme Court’s ruling Wednesday in a multimillion-dollar dispute over a collection of religious artworks will make it harder for some lawsuits to be tried in U.S. courts over claims that property was taken from Jews during the Nazi era.
Family can pursue discrimination lawsuit against HOA
An African American family who claims to have been subjected to race-based harassment, taunts and threats from a neighbor in their Indianapolis subdivision can move forward with their lawsuit after a federal judge denied the homeowners association’s request to toss the case.
Trimble: New Year’s resolutions after a tumultuous 2020
Indianapolis lawyer John Trimble exhorts members of the legal profession to shake off the malaise and resolve to charge ahead into 2021 with the renewed vigor to get through the mountain of challenges and to do what we can to make things better.
Indiana Bar Foundation condemns attack on Capitol
Saying the rights provided in the Constitution come with obligations, the Indiana Bar Foundation has issued a statement condemning Wednesday’s attack on the U.S. Capitol Building.
Sex offender names ordered removed for ‘right to travel’ violation
Six men required to register as sex offenders after moving to Indiana can have their names removed from the sex offender registry, the 7th Circuit has held, finding that the state’s registration law discriminates between offenders who have consistently lived in Indiana and those who more recently moved into the state. A dissenting judge, however, disagreed with the majority’s holding that the registration law burdens the plaintiffs’ right to travel.
Nursing home patient, family seek to enforce rights as to care
A case pending before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals brought on behalf of a northwest Indiana man suffering from dementia asks whether a patient in a long-term care facility can enforce rights under the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act.
Hull: Trump election suits pose challenge for legal profession, bar
On Dec. 3, 2020, the group Lawyers Defending American Democracy issued a “Call for Bar Condemnation and Investigation of President Trump’s Campaign Lawyers for Subverting American Democracy.” I am one of the hundreds of lawyers who signed. I did so not only because of the present constitutional crisis, but for an additional individual reason: to personally honor the valiant work of the lawyers in the NAACP Legal and Education Fund Inc. and to mark a distinction between their achievements and the damage to our profession inflicted by these recent worthless cases.
Terre Haute inmates renew bid to postpone executions as COVID cases rise in prison
Two inmates are renewing their bid to postpone upcoming executions at the Terre Haute federal prison, claiming this time to have an evidentiary link between recent executions and an outbreak of COVID-19 cases among inmates.
Lawyers: 2nd US inmate scheduled to be executed has COVID-19
A second federal inmate scheduled to be put to death next month in a series of executions by the Trump administration has tested positive for COVID-19, his lawyers said Friday.
US inmate scheduled to be executed tests positive for virus
A federal prisoner scheduled to be executed just days before President-elect Joe Biden takes office has tested positive for coronavirus, his lawyer said Thursday.
Appeals panel to hear arguments in traffic stop, cash forfeiture case
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Monday will hear oral argument in a civil forfeiture case involving the Hancock County prosecutor and tens of thousands of dollars.
Federal courts invite families to celebrate Bill of Rights through virtual event
As courts nationwide are celebrating the anniversary of the ratification of the Constitution’s first 10 Amendments during the month of December, families are invited to join in during a Wednesday evening event.